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Why do we fall ill? or Why do we get sick? or What causes diseases? These questions cannot be answered in one line. There can be various reasons for falling sick such as lack of personal hygiene, extreme exposure to intense weather, and eating unhealthy foods. An unhealthy lifestyle can also be one of the major reasons for bad health and sickness.
Health
Health is one of the most important things in life. Good health means both physical and mental well-being. Health can be promoted by encouraging healthful activities, such as exercise and proper sleep.
Significance of Good Health
Health is the most important wealth in a person’s life. The importance of good health is as follows-
- Staying healthy helps us in performing regular activities of life without any difficulties.
- Eating healthy and nutritious foods will help us to combat various diseases.
- Cleanliness is one of the major factors that leads to good health.
- Good health also leads to good mental health.
- Harmony and social equality are important for an individual’s health.
Why do we fall ill?
- One of the main reasons for falling ill is pollution. If someone lives in a highly polluted region, he or she is bound to fall sick often.
- Lack of personal hygiene is another crucial reason for falling sick. Washing, cleaning, and regular sanitization are essential for a healthy environment.
- An unhealthy lifestyle is perhaps the most common reason nowadays for falling ill. Intake of junk foods, excessive alcohol consumption, and chain-smoking are the main reasons for extreme bad health in the youngsters.
- Having poor mental health and suffering from anxiety and clinical depression is extremely bad for physical health.
Diseases
When someone is suffering from an abnormal condition due to some problems, such a state of the body is known to be suffering from a disease. Every disease has certain symptoms specific to it. These symptoms help us to detect a disease.
The diseases can be auto-immune, bacterial, cancerous, digestive, sexually transmitted, and even self-created. Diagnosing diseases is comparatively simple now due to the advancement of technology and medication.
Types of Diseases
Our body informs us of some symptoms when we develop a disease. Fever, headache, fatigue, and body pains are few common symptoms of many diseases. Diseases can be classified into two-
- Acute Diseases- These diseases last for a short time. Such diseases lead to extreme weakness and loss of immunity. Acute diseases are common cold and typhoid.
- Chronic Diseases- Chronic diseases last for a long time and even can stay with a human till death. HIV, Aids, and Cancer are examples of Chronic diseases.
Causes of Disease
- Infectious Causes: Diseases that are caused by microbes.
- Non-Infectious Causes: Diseases that are caused by internal factors and not by microbes such as bacterias.
How to prevent diseases?
Diseases can be prevented and kept under control. Few ways of preventing diseases are-
- Maintaining a healthy lifestyle and eating a balanced diet are extremely essential to prevent contracting diseases.
- Smoking must be completely avoided as it is injurious to health. It can even lead to death.
- Everyone above a certain age must go for regular health check-ups so that if they are prone to some diseases, they get early medications to prevent getting seriously ill.
- Exercising daily is very important to remain fit and healthy.
- Obesity is a reason for various health disasters such as heart problems and increased cholesterol. So maintaining proper weight is important. Even being underweight is not good for health.
Things to Remember
- Unhealthy lifestyles, junk foods, and mental disorders are the main reasons for falling sick.
- When someone is suffering from an abnormal condition due to some problems, then that state of the body is known to be suffering from a disease.
- There are two types of diseases- Acute and Chronic diseases.
- The diseases can be auto-immune, bacterial, cancerous, digestive, sexually transmitted, and even self-created.
- Proper medications and therapy are important to cure diseases or to keep the crucial diseases under control.
- Both physical and mental health is essential for a complete and healthy lifestyle.
- Fever, headache, fatigue, and body pains are few common symptoms of many diseases.
- Eating a balanced diet, drinking a lot of water, regular exercise, and keeping a clear, accepting and open mind are important in keeping away from diseases.
Important Questions
Ques: How do we fall ill? (1 Mark)
Ans: We fall ill due to reasons such as unhealthy lifestyles and unhealthy foods. We can also fall ill due to mental problems such as anxiety issues, stress and depressive disorders.
Ques: Define Immunity? (1 Mark)
Ans: Immunity is the repair mechanism of our body. Nutritious and healthy foods develop our immunity. Our immunity fights against diseases.
Ques: What are the common symptoms of almost all diseases? (1 Mark)
Ans: All diseases have some common symptoms such as mild fever, headache, fatigue, nausea, and muscle pains.
Ques: How can we cure diseases at home? (2 Marks)
Ans: Certain home remedies can treat and cure our illness. Eating a balanced diet, drinking a lot of water, regular exercise, and keeping a clear, accepting and open mind are important in keeping away from diseases.
Ques: Name some infectious diseases and what is the medium of the transmission? (3 Marks)
Ans: Infectious diseases are usually caused by microbes. These diseases are detrimental if not treated immediately. Some of the infectious diseases and their mode of transmission are-
- Common Cold, Influenza, Tuberculosis- Air
- Cholera, Typhoid- Water
- Rabies- Animals
- Aids, Syphilis- Sexual transmission
Ques: List any three reasons why you would think that you are sick and ought to see a doctor. If only one of these symptoms were present, would you still go to the doctor? Why or why not? (3 Marks)
Ans: The three reasons why someone thinks that he/she is sick are- headache, cold and cough and loose-motions.
These symptoms indicate that the person may be suffering from a disease but does not indicate what the disease is. So, the affected person should visit the doctor for the treatment and to know the cause of the above symptom. Even in the case of a single symptom one needs to visit the doctor to get proper treatment.
Ques: What are the different means by which infectious diseases are spread? (5 Marks)
Ans: The different means by which infectious diseases spread are:
(a) Through air: The infectious diseases can be air-borne diseases. The air carries bacteria and viruses that can cause various diseases.
(b) Through food and water: Contaminated food and water contains bacteria, viruses, worms etc. These can cause diseases like cholera, typhoid, hepatitis.
(c) Through contact: Infectious diseases can also be spread through the contact of an infected person. Example, fungal infections, skin diseases, scabies etc.
(d) By sexual contact: Many diseases can be transmitted through sexual contact. For example, syphilis, AIDS.
(e) By body fluids: Infected body fluids like blood, semen, mother’s milk can also cause diseases. Example, AIDS.
(f) Vectors: The organism that spreads a disease by carrying pathogens from one place to another is called a vector. Example, mosquitoes carry pathogens like protozoa.
Ques: What precautions can you take in your school to reduce the incidence of infectious diseases? (5 Marks)
Ans: The precautions that one can take in school to reduce the incidence of infectious diseases are-
(a) We should use handkerchiefs while coughing and sneezing.
(b) We should wash our hands before eating tiffins.
(c) We should stay at home if we are suffering from any infectious diseases.
(d) We should get vaccinated before the infection affects us.
(e) We should keep our school surroundings clean and check for stagnant water.
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